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Curtailing hope in the world (qisar al-amal)

قصر الأمل

Curtailing hopes in the world, founded on the fortieth hadith of the Forty: 'be in this world as though a stranger or a wayfarer' — for a stranger does not settle into a foreign abode, and a passer-by clings to it even less; upon it Ibn Umar built his saying 'when you reach evening do not await the morning, and when you reach morning do not await the evening, and take from your health for your sickness and from your life for your death'; Ibn Rajab calls this hadith a foundation of curtailing hope in this world, such that the believer should not take it as his lasting home and set his heart at rest in it (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 810–811).

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Spirituality and Sufism

Overview

Shortening hope is the subject of the fortieth hadith of the Forty: "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a passer-by." The stranger does not settle in a foreign dwelling, and the passer-by is less attached than he is. 1

Ibn Umar's saying

On the hadith Ibn Umar built his saying: "When you are in the evening, do not expect the morning, and when you are in the morning, do not expect the evening; take from your health for your sickness, and from your life for your death." 1

Ibn Rajab says that this hadith is a root for shortening hope in this world, and that the believer should not take this world as a home and a homeland in which to settle. It is part of asceticism. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Based on
Arba'un 40 — be in this world as a stranger or a wayfarer
Part of
Renunciation (zuhd)

People and things also explored

Renunciation (zuhd)· Arba'un 40 — be in this world as a stranger or a wayfarer· Eating little· Wara' (scrupulosity)· Arba'un 31 — renounce the world and God will love you· Muslim 1048 — If the son of Adam had two valleys of wealth· Muslim 2742 — The world is sweet and green· Muslim 2820 — Should I not be a thankful servant

Sources

  1. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, p.810-811
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Curtailing hope in the world (qisar al-amal)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/qisar-al-amal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Renunciation (zuhd)

Zuhd of a thing means turning away from it out of contempt for it and rising above it; in Ibn Rajab's commentary on 'renounce the world and God will love you', renouncing the world is neither forbidding the lawful nor wasting wealth — as halted at Abu Muslim al-Khawlani in Ahmad's Kitab al-Zuhd, the reading he prefers — but being more confident in what is in God's hand than in what is in your own, and, when calamity strikes, more hopeful of its reward and store than of its survival; al-Zuhri defined the renunciant as one whom the unlawful does not overcome in patience nor the lawful distract from gratitude; Sufyan ibn Uyayna as one who gives thanks when blessed and is patient when tried; Sufyan al-Thawri and the Imam Ahmad as 'renouncing the world is shortening hopes, not eating coarse food nor wearing a rough cloak' — Ahmad once adding 'and despairing of what is in people's hands'; Ibrahim ibn Adham made it three kinds: obligatory, renunciation of the unlawful; meritorious, of the lawful; and safekeeping, of the doubtful — people disputing whether renouncing the unlawful alone earns the name, and Abu Sulayman al-Darani gathering all its meanings as 'renouncing whatever occupies you away from God', a saying Ibn Rajab calls comprehensive of all its senses, divisions and kinds; and its fullness includes that a believer who intends by lawful pleasures strength for obedience finds them counted worship, as Mu'adh said 'I reckon my sleep as I reckon my night vigil' (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 643–655).